


Dreaming of Hope

by LizAnn_5869



Series: Reunited Verse [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bad Wolf Rose Tyler, Dimension Cannon, Dimension-Hopping Rose, Dreams, F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hope, Love, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Rose has enhanced healing, Rose is seriously injured, triggers for blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 19:16:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14479380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizAnn_5869/pseuds/LizAnn_5869
Summary: Rose runs into serious trouble on a dimension hop, causing a serious injury.  Back at Torchwood her friends and family learn some information about how Bad Wolf has changed her.





	Dreaming of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> This story incorporate this prompt from Doctorroseprompts: Prompt: A cold, sunny day on another planet. Dialogue: “Call me now. It’s urgent” Object: a bloody knife.  
>  _Warning:_ Rose is stabbed in the story, and there is some mention of blood. The main focus is on Rose’s enhanced powers of healing.  
>  It is a prequel to “The Doctor, the Divine and the Dungeon.” In that story I briefly mentioned the dimension hop that caused her a major injury and fully triggered her Bad Wolf healing powers.  
> Many many thanks to Rose—Nebula for reading this and helping me make it better!

 

The first thing Rose noticed upon winking into existence in the middle of an alley was the bright sunlight blinding her and the second, the bite of the bitter cold wind blowing in between the buildings.  The third thing (and she _really_ wished it had been the first) was the teenaged boy with messy hair and rough clothing lunging at her, bearing what looked to be a hunting knife.  Rose cried, “Oi, there! I’m here…” and then she felt the knife plunge into her side before she could get out the words “in peace.”

 

The boy yelled, whether trying to be threatening or in horror of what he’d just done, and backed away, dropping the knife.  

 

Rose was still on her feet, but the weakness in her legs told her that it wouldn’t be long before she collapsed.  Her newly acquired senses were working at lightning speed, evaluating her condition. “What the hell, kid?” she bit out.  The boy, shaking, looked down at her wound, already starting to stain her clothes with spilled blood.

 

The boy wasn’t alone, she noted.  Two other kids stood behind him, eyes wide in horror.  “C’mon,” the girl urged, grabbing his arm. The other kid had a needle in his hand, and Rose could surmise what she’d interrupted upon materializing in that alley.  The boy who had stabbed her took one step toward Rose, starting to reach out a bloodied hand. “Dammit, I’m outta here,” the girl growled, shoving the kid with the drugs towards the other end of the alley. Rose’s attacker looked back at them, and then at Rose and then took off in his companions’ direction.

 

Rose’s knees gave out.  “Shit!’ she yelled, and the curse echoed off the walls.  Her body was sending her about a thousand signals all at the same time, but the most strident signal was _pain_ as her vision went hazy.  She clamped her hand to her side, trying to staunch the flow of blood coming from her wound.  The knife was on the pavement beside her. It was a hell of a big knife. _One hundred forty-nine freaking jumps. And on the bloomin’ one hundred fiftieth I get ambushed._  As the dizziness kicked in, she fell back onto the pavement.  Her other hand went across her body, looking for the hopper button.  By touch alone, she found the emergency recall and communication buttons.  With her last bit of energy she rasped out, “Mickey! It’s urgent! Call me back _now._ ”  The last thing Rose felt as she lost consciousness was the cold seeping into her bones.

 

*****

Mickey was always on edge when Rose jumped.  He wished he could take some of the jumps for her, but he’d already been enough times to begin to affect his own health.  It had gotten to the point in which Rose was the only one who could withstand multiple jumps.

 

Rose wasn’t exactly _Rose_ anymore.  He was one of five people who knew that fact.  Two of them were physicists working on the hopper.  Owen in medical knew. As well as Pete Tyler. The thought of the hell that would rain down when Jackie found out kept Mickey awake at night.  Rose’s physiology had been changing for quite a while, they’d discovered. When they figured out exactly how long ago, Rose and Mickey could pinpoint the exact moment she began to change.  It had been when she opened up the heart of the TARDIS. _Something_ pretty catastrophic must have happened then, because Rose had disappeared with the time ship, only to come back months later with a spiky haired man in the Doctor’s clothes.  Either Rose didn’t know what happened, or wouldn’t mention it.

 

Her body healed with astonishing rapidity now.  On one jump return she’d landed wrong in Torchwood Tower and her face had come in violent contact with the side of a console and Mickey had expected her jaw to be broken, but he had no more than a little bruising which had disappeared two hours later.  Cuts disappeared soon after she’d gotten them.

 

Mickey recalled a time when Rose had come back with a third degree burn on her arm.  By the time he’d run with her to the infirmary, the blisters had disappeared and the skin was barely reddened.  “Next time come runnin’ in with an actual emergency,” Owen had snarked with his usual rubbish bedside manner. “I have real work to do!”  

 

Before Rose could deflect the matter at hand with a retort, Mickey had cut in, “Well, I do have some damn work for you to do.”  And while Rose protested Mickey told him about Rose’s previous injury. Blood was drawn and four day later Owen was telling Pete, Mickey and Rose about the differences in Rose’s physiology.  She was more Time Lord than human now. And as she put it, she was the perfect person to send across the void.

 

Knowing about Rose’s augmented physical condition didn’t make it any easier to watch her disappear in the dimension cannon room, or make him sigh with relief when she returned.  They had no idea what would happen if she suffered a catastrophic injury. The Doctor could regenerate. They had no idea what she could do and it was terrifying.

 

On this particular jump, Mickey felt goosebumps as soon as Rose had winked out of existence.  He had a bad feeling about this jump.

 

He always felt a little useless during jumps.  He was the tin dog, the man in Havana, and he was absolutely essential, as Rose always told him.   _You’re the one I trust the most, Mickey,_  It didn’t take the sting away that Rose was the one putting herself in harm’s way.  He watched the console display intently, listening for her voice. He was about to check in with Rose when her shout of  “Mickey! It’s urgent! Call me back!” startled him. His response was automatic as he sprang into action.

 

Seconds later, Rose was back in the dimension cannon room, but she was neither safe nor sound.

 

She lay there on the floor, a crumpled heap in boots, black jeans and a black leather jacket. Mickey jolted out of his chair, hitting the emergency medical call button as he ran for the hopper room.  They rarely ever used the emergency button, because Rose’s other injuries had been inconsequential compared to what he was witnessing. He registered the sight of Rose’s unconscious form then saw the pool of dark blood spreading under her.  “Bloody hell,” he gasped.

 

Mickey dropped to his knees beside her, gently turning her over.  The whole left side of her shirt was soaked with blood. “Rose, what the hell…”  He yanked the shirt up to see the large, ragged gash in her side. Placing his hand over it, he applied direct pressure.  His hands were slick with her blood immediately. “C’mon, babe, c’mon…” he muttered, his other hand feeling for a pulse. It was there, weak and thready.  Her breath caught, then she exhaled and Mickey’s own heart nearly stopped at the sight of gold particles floating in the air around her head.

 

By then, the cannon room door had slammed open, and Owen was running towards them, accompanied by a couple of medics.  “Damn, Tyler,” Owen muttered, “Finally gave me a proper emergency, didn’t ya…..”

 

And then it was a flurry of activity as they worked to monitor Rose and stabilize her enough to move.  Mickey relinquished his position, allowing the medical personnel to help Rose. He looked at his hands.  He shook his head and rubbed them on his shirt. At that moment Pete barreled in, his face white at the sight of Rose on the floor. He looked up at Mickey.  

 

“What the hell happened?” Pete cried.

 

“Work out the details later.  We need to move her now,” Owen ordered.  

 

Pete stared at the medical team working on Rose.  He reached for his phone as he followed them out of the room.  

 

****

 

“Where’s Rose?”  Pete and Mickey heard Jackie before they saw her.  Pete stood up and took a few steps down the hall and was practically tackled by his wife.  Jackie looked at Mickey, then glanced down at the bloodstains on his shirt, pressing her lips together.  Then the questions began. “What happened? Was she on one of those jumps?” Jackie drew in breath to utter another litany of questions, but Pete cut in before she could speak.

 

“Yes.  She got stabbed, we think.  She must have jumped into a bad situation.”

 

“Did she heal up like those other times?” Jackie asked. Mickey and Pete stared, gobsmacked. “Don’t look at me like that.  I’ve seen her do it, at home. She took a bad fall chasing Tony around and skinned up both knees. The cuts were gone before I could even get out plasters.  So, where is she?”

 

“I think this one’s a bit worse, Jackie.  She was still bleeding when I saw her,” Pete told her gently.  “She might not recover as quickly.”

 

“Well, she will,” Jackie said confidently.  “I’ve figured out that she’s not completely human anymore.  I saw that comin’, all that travelin’ she did with the Doctor. Told her myself, at Canary Wharf.  Plus whatever she did to get back to that big-eared Doctor of hers.”

 

“When she opened the TARDIS up,” Mickey murmured.

 

“When I got her the big yellow truck,” Jackie chimed in.

 

Pete shook his head in amazement.  “So...you knew all that?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, and so did you, and you didn’t tell me, and don’t think we’re not gonna discuss it later,” Jackie stated flatly.

 

“We don’t know the extent of what she can do,” Pete said.  “We know she has enhanced healing, for sure. But Jacks….this was bad.”

 

“She’ll pull through,” Jackie said confidently.  “What’s goin’ on now? Why aren’t they lettin’ us see her?”

 

Mickey looked worriedly in the direction of the infirmary.  “She’s been back there for an hour now. You’d think someone would give us some news.”

 

As if on cue, Owen burst through the door, in bloody surgical scrubs.  It was at that sight that Jackie’s face fell. The seriousness of the situation became clear.  She gripped Pete’s arm.

 

Owen, as usual, eschewed bedside manner and tact as he bluntly stated, “She had a hell of a stab wound.  It did a lot of internal damage. She should have died, but she didn’t.”

 

“Couldn’t she heal herself?”  Mickey asked.

 

“Oh, yeah, she’s doin’ that.  I personally witnessed it. But it’s taken a hell of a lot out of her.  She’s in a coma. She’s breathing on her own now, though, so that’s something.  When she exhales, she’s breathing out what we can only guess is artron energy.”

 

Mickey interjected. “The Doctor did that.  At Christmas, when he changed his face. He said he was dyin’ and Rose told me he...exploded...and changed his whole body.  Is Rose gonna do that?”

 

“That’s not even possible,” Owen scoffed. “Not for a human.”

 

“You know she hasn’t been human in a long time, Owen,” Pete snapped back.

 

“She would’ve done it by now if she was gonna,” Jackie told them.  “The Doctor had already changed when he was unconscious in my bedroom.”  Pete arched an eyebrow. “Long story. Point is, he’d already done his changin’.  If she was gonna, she would have already.”

 

“Glad we have an expert,” Owen snarked.

 

“Watch it, Harper,” Pete growled.

 

Jackie crossed her arms, which was a dangerous sign that only Pete and Mickey recognized.  They stepped back. “Listen, you prat, I actually am more of a bloody ’ expert than you are, considerin’ there’s no Time Lords in this universe.  I might not have a bloomin’ medical degree….” Owen opened his mouth to argue back and Jackie stepped forward threateningly. “Just shut it. Here’s what we already know about my daughter...she’s able to heal like nothing you’ve ever seen before.  She shoulda died but she didn’t. Now, I wanna know the specifics. Does it mean she can live longer? Can she outlive us? Have you figured that out yet?”

 

“Well, no, but…”

 

“Then find out.  You got her stuck in one place for once.  Use some of that time you got to scan her.  The Doctor was out for about twelve hours so you’d best get crackin’,” Jackie recommended.

 

Pete turned to his wife.  “So you’re authorizing more tests for her.  You’re wantin’ them to do more poking and prodding.  I dunno, Jacks. Maybe there’s a better way to do this than to put Rose in jeopardy every time she jumps.  I’ve half a mind to stop the program.”

 

Jackie faced him and spoke firmly.  “Before she started jumpin’, we talked.  She gave me the permission to do what was needed to keep her going, to keep the hops happening if she couldn’t.  We have to find the Doctor, because there’s not gonna be universes for us to live in if we don’t. And think about it, Pete.  If she does have an extended lifespan, she could live to lose us all. She could live to see her nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews die before she ever ages.  If she can get back to the Doctor, she won’t be alone for the rest of what could be a very, very long life.”

 

Pete and Mickey stared at Jackie, gobsmacked.

 

“So get on it,” Jackie ordered Owen.  Owen opened and closed his mouth, then turned to leave.  “You can see Rose in about an hour,” he said, unwilling to engage Jackie any further.

 

*****

 

It was a long hour, spent mostly in silence.  The realization of what had happened to Rose seemed to finally register with Jackie, and Pete held her as she cried quietly.  The nurse assigned to Rose’s care arrived just as Mickey returned with snacks, which were quickly forgotten as they followed her back to Rose’s room.

 

Rose appeared to be merely sleeping.  Jackie was reminded again of the similarity between her and the Doctor comatose in their flat. She sat by Rose’s side, taking her hand, marveling at how time had flown since then.

 

Rose was hooked up to monitors but wasn’t on oxygen.  The only other bit of equipment was an IV. The nurse explained, “She registers just a few breaths per minute but her oxygen levels are perfect.  Her brain waves are off the charts. So active. I’ve never seen anything like this. She’s on an IV for hydration, but that’s it. And the wound is nearly healed.  She won’t scar at all. ” The nurse shook her head in disbelief. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” She let herself out of the room.

 

Jackie sighed.  “You take all the time you need to wake up, honey.  When the Doctor was sleepin’ we woke him up too early.  You rest.”

 

And Rose did.  Every so often she’d exhale golden particles.  Jackie took comfort in the fact that her daughter seemed to be in better condition than the Doctor had been.  She recalled how he’d shivered with fever, and how one of his hearts had shut down. _Tea,_ she thought. _Gonna make sure she has a big cuppa when she wakes up._

 

And as she did when she kept a vigil at the Doctor’s side, Jackie rested her head on the mattress near Rose and tried to relax.  It wasn’t long before she dozed off.

 

****

_Rose took a deep breath, beginning to awaken.  She became aware of a cacophony of noise around her.  One sound in particular made her breath catch._

 

_It was a beloved, wheezing, groaning sound.  The sound of...“Hope,” she muttered. Her eyes opened to the sight of beautiful coral twisting up into darkness.  The room was bathed in green light. She sat up and everything seemed to spin._

 

_“Easy there,” said a voice.  The speaker was just out of sight but the Northern accent made her heart ache and she began to cry.  “Ah, don’t do that, Rose Tyler. Got too much to do to waste time cryin’.”_

 

_He stepped out of the shadows then, smiling, his blue eyes sparkling.  Rose stood up shakily. She gasped, “Oh,” and began to sob harder. Seeing him again was overwhelming._

 

_The Doctor spread his arms wide, and Rose couldn’t refuse the invitation.  She hurried to him, stopping short as she came close. “Are you a projection? Can I….?”  He took her hand in response, and she felt his cool skin against her warm palm. She closed the remaining distance, embracing him.  His jumper was soft and familiar under her cheek. She caught a familiar whiff of leather. Wrapping one arm around her, the Doctor held their linked hands against his left heart._

 

_“Ran into a spot of bother, did you,” he murmured. Rose nodded, unable to speak.  “You’re safe now.”_

 

_She cried for a bit longer, feeling his comforting presence enfold her and calm her until she could calm herself.  “Did I end up going back in my timeline?” Another thought came to her, and she hesitantly asked, “Or did I die, then, in that alley?”_

 

_“Nope,” he answered, popping the p.  “Not somethin’ you have to worry about anymore, the Wolf took care of that. So, that’s not the important thing right now.”_

 

_Rose looked up at him curiously. To her shock, she gazed into a pair of brown eyes.  His hair was gravity defying, and the soft jumper had been replaced with a smart brown pinstriped suit.  “The important thing, Rose Tyler,” the Doctor said, his voice caressing her name, “You keep going. The universes and I need you.”_

 

_“I’m so tired, Doctor.”_

 

_“So, rest a while longer.  Then have some tea. It works wonders for the synapses.”  For whatever reason, that struck them both as funny and they chuckled together._

 

_“I’ll be sure to,” she reassured him._

 

_“Quite right.  How many jumps have you made?”_

 

_She thought about it.  “About 150, I think,” she answered._

 

_“175 is a good number.  Keep going,” he smiled._

 

_“I can’t wait to be home.”_

 

_“I can’t wait to have you home,” the Doctor told her as Rose yawned, exhaling golden particles into the air.  The Doctor’s eyebrow quirked and he recommended, “Don’t think you’re quite ready to wake up yet.”_

 

_She felt the urge to sleep, but she knew once she awakened she would lose him again.  She tightened her hold on him._

 

_“Rest, Rose. Then you can get your strength back and keep going.  Keep helpin’ anyone who needs it.” His voice had changed again, and he looked at her through blue eyes.  “Everything you do makes a difference.”_

 

_“I couldn’t help those kids in the alley, though,” she murmured sadly._

 

_“Help the ones you can, and keep the ones you can’t in your memory. Keep runnin’.”_

 

_“Hold me a bit while I rest?” she requested softly._

 

_Her first Doctor shimmered into her second, and he growled in a low voice, “I’d never turn down the opportunity to do that.”  He lead her to the jumpseat and she sat down with him. He urged her to stretch out and rest her head on his lap. Rose reclined with sigh of relief.  She resisted closing her eyes, though. “Sleep, Rose.”_

 

_“Don’t wanna lose you,” she argued, even as her eyelids grew heavy.  “When I wake up you’ll be gone.”_

 

_“We’ll be together again, you n’ me.  Better with two, yeah?” The leg her head rested on was clad in jeans now.  He stroked her hair gently. “My precious girl. Don’t lose hope.”_

 

_“Love you, my Doctor,” she murmured._

 

_“Rose, I love you,” he answered, and she wrenched her eyelids open to see warm brown eyes gazing at her.  His smile was the last thing she remembered as she finally succumbed to sleep._

 

*****

The first sensation Rose felt upon regaining consciousness was warmth.  It reminded her of mornings on the TARDIS, when the Doctor would stay in bed and Rose was inclined to keep her eyes closed and stay wrapped in that memory.  The sound of her mother’s voice and an insistent beeping pulled her out of her fantasy.

 

“Rose, honey?  Are you ready to wake up?”

 

Rose mumbled, “No.”  She heard Jackie chuckling.

 

“Well, I was always gonna get that answer.”

 

Rose opened her eyes, expecting harsh lights, but she was surprised that the room was dimly lit, like her room on the TARDIS would have been, reminding her of the dream. The disappointment made her eyes sting with tears.

 

“Are you in pain, sweetheart?” Jackie asked, reaching for the call button.

 

“No, not physical,” Rose rasped.  “Just….I was…” She shook her head.  “Thought I woke up on the TARDIS there for minute, s’all.”

 

“I’m sorry.  You’re in the infirmary at Torchwood.  You ran into some trouble. Here, have a drink, sweetheart.”  She helped Rose take a sip from a straw. “I’ll bring you more tea later.”

 

The tea refreshed her raspy throat, but the coldness made her grimace.  “How long have I been out?”

 

Jackie glanced at her watch.  “Over thirteen hours, I think.  How do you feel?”

 

Rose took a deep breath.  She wasn’t in pain, and her head was beginning to clear from her long sleep.  “Good...I guess,” she answered. “You don’t look surprised by that. I guess the injury wasn’t as bad as I thought?”

 

“No, it was awful.  They told me more than once that you could’ve died, except….”  Jackie took a deep breath, her voice having gone wobbly. “....you don’t even have a scar.”  Rose nodded, not quite sure what to say next. “I know. I already figured out about the healin’ of course.  And that you’re not completely human anymore. You could’ve told me.”

 

Rose’s eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t know how to say it.”

 

“I love you, sweetheart, no matter what.”

 

“Mum…”  Rose sat up awkwardly and Jackie was there in an instant, holding her close.  Rose began to sob in her mother’s arms. The never ending jumps, the ambush and all the physical changes overwhelmed her.  And she could still imagine the sensation of the woolly jumper and the suit against her cheek. The dream had felt so _real._

 

Jackie held Rose until she began to calm.  Finally, her daughter lay back against the pillows, absolutely spent.  “M’not gonna fuss at you for not confidin’ in me. I’ve already told Pete he’s gettin’ that.”

 

“Oh, don’t.  Please. I made Mickey and Dad keep it a secret.”

 

Jackie nodded in agreement.  “While you were out we talked to that prat Harper.”  Rose chucked ruefully.

 

“I take it that he was very...himself...about the whole thing.”

 

Jackie snorted.  “Well, I think he’s a bit scared of me now.  Anyway….your cells aren’t...degenerating, I guess he said?  Your lifespan has been extended….by quite a bit. They’re not willin’ to guess how long you’ll live.”  

 

“I had suspected,” Rose revealed.  “Are you angry at me for the risks I’ve taken to get to this point?”

 

“No.  I helped you get the TARDIS opened.  I didn’t know what I was doin’ then, not how it would affect you.  But I wouldn’t change what I did.”

 

“You seemed so angry with me at Canary Wharf, though,” Rose pointed out.

 

“I wasn’t angry, love.  I was terrified. I’m still scared for you, but not because I think you’ll turn into some alien abomination or because you’ll be injured.  You’ll outlive all of us. For several generations, maybe. It hurts to think of you, all alone here. That’s why I hope, with all my heart, that you can figure out the reason the stars are disappearing and you can find the Doctor.  That’s where you’re meant to be.”

 

Once again Rose found herself speechless.  She clasped her mother’s hand, finding it as comforting as she had as a little child.  “So what do we do now?” Rose whispered.

 

“Well, we get you out of here, first of all.  I don’t think they’ll keep you much longer. Owen Harper won’t want you takin’ up space in his infirmary.”  Jackie said the last with an eye roll. “Then you come back to the mansion and rest a few days. I don’t care if you have Time Lord superpowers, you’re takin’ a break.  I think you need some real sleep, and some proper tea. Doctor would tell you you needed tea, wouldn’t he?”

 

Rose chuckled. “Quite right.”  She sat up again, hugging Jackie.  “Thank you, Mum, for...everything. I know it’s been tough dealin’ with me leavin’ with the Doctor.”

 

“Goodness knows I used to hate him.  I don’t, anymore. He tried his best to make sure you were safe.  And I believe he truly loves you as much as you love him. So….the sooner you can get goin’ and find him, the better.  You need to start that new life.”

 

“And what if I don’t find him?” Rose whispered the thought that she had dared not articulate before now.  

 

“We’ll cross that bridge _if_ and when we come to it.  But I don’t think you’ll look much longer. I know you’ll find him.”

 

“Glad you’re sure of it,” Rose muttered, but then she remembered the Doctor’s words from the dream. _175 is a good number. “_ Mum….I dreamed about the Doctor.  It was so vivid. I was inside of the TARDIS and I could hear all the sounds and...both of my Doctors were there.”

 

“Well, that sounds interesting,” Jackie commented with a smirk.

 

Rose rolled her eyes.  “How about no, Mum. He started out my Doctor with blue eyes..I miss him so much.  He hugged me and I could feel his jumper. It was _that_ real.”

 

“Oh, love,” Jackie sighed, her smile faltering.  She stroked Rose’s hair.

 

“But he’d switch back and forth...sometimes he’d have his great hair and pinstripes and sometimes he’d have his ears and his jumper.  But he let me know that I don’t have many more jumps to go before I find him. It wasn’t like when he lead me to Bad Wolf Bay. I’m sure it was just me and my wishful thinkin’.”

 

“Who knows….maybe you did get some sort of message.  God knows weirder things have happened with that man.  And if not….well, how did the dream make you feel?”

 

Rose thought about the comforting feel of his arms around her and his voices, both of them telling her to keep going.  “I felt hopeful. He didn’t want me to lose hope.”

 

“There you go, then, love. That’s why you had the dream.  Whether it was directly from the Doctor or not, you know what you have to do.  Keep hopin’ that one of these jumps will be _the_ one.”

 

“I might not see you again,” Rose pointed out.

 

“Then we’ll make good use of the time we have,” Jackie said firmly.  

 

“I don’t know how you’re holdin’ it together so well, Mum.”

 

“I’ve already had plenty of time to shout at Mickey and Pete.  And Harper, too for that matter. Speakin’ of which….he needs to get off his arse and discharge you.”

 

“He’s probably afraid to talk to you,” Rose chuckled.

 

“Good,” Jackie said firmly.

 

To their amusement, a male nurse by the last name of Williams was sent in with the discharge paperwork.  Apparently Harper had other things to do.

 

Rose was changing into fresh clothes that Jackie had brought her when Pete knocked on the door.

 

“Rose is in the loo,” Jackie said by way of explanation.  “We’re almost ready to go.”

 

“Never would’ve thought it, Jacks.  I saw her when they brought her in and I just don’t understand….”

 

Jackie laid a hand on Pete’s arm.  “Just be thankful it happened this way.”

 

“Well, ‘course I am!  But even with all the things I’ve seen….”    Rose entered the room then, looking perfectly healthy, wearing clean clothes, and Pete shook his head.  “Rose, sweetheart...glad to see you up and about.”

 

“You’re gonna see her up and about at the mansion for the next week…”

 

Rose interjected, “Three days, Mum.  We have to get back at it.”

 

“We’ll talk about that later,” Jackie put her off, eliciting a huffy breath from her daughter.  

 

“About that….I had serious thoughts of shutting the cannon down, Rose,” Pete said, getting directly to the point.  Rose started to protest, but Pete went on. “I know we can’t. And I know you’re the only one physically capable of doing this repeatedly.  And that it could be our only hope to figure out what’s going on with the missing stars. But seein’ you like that….it terrified me.”

 

Rose hugged Pete.  This was the man who had initially rejected her so long ago.  Time and circumstances had changed both of them and they’d been able to figure out a way to tolerate each other that fit them both.  And after a while they’d forgotten they’d ever had a strained relationship. He was her dad. “I get it, I do,” Rose reassured him.

 

“No matter what ends up happening, sweetheart, I’ll always back you up.  Just...don’t scare me like that again.” They both laughed that the futility of that request.

 

“Oh, you know. S’me, so….”

 

“Quite.”  He smiled at his daughter then, and Rose felt the sting of tears.  She embraced him again. Although she’d already been on a string of jumps with no guarantee of return, she now felt a certain finality.  Whatever happened next would likely separate her from her parents, probably forever. Jackie joined their embrace and Rose let herself be cocooned by their love.

 

She decided she’d be staying a week.

 

*****

 

It ended up being five days due to an odd signal Mickey’s tracking equipment picked up.  It was with a bit of reluctance Rose prepared to start jumping again. She pulled on a magenta vest top and black trousers, wondering what she’d do for a jacket since her beloved black leather jacket had been destroyed in the attack.  That had been the hardest thing for her to deal with. Her mother didn’t have to ask her why, of all things, she’d cry over a jacket.

 

The answer to her musings came in the form of Jackie, bearing a shopping bag from that universe’s Henriks, of all places.  Rose appreciated the irony. In the bag she found a new leather jacket, this time blue. “Ta, Mum! I love it.

 

“Don’t know why, but it just felt right.  Lotsa pockets, too, so that’ll be useful.”  Rose smiled at her mother’s practicality. “Like for snacks.”

 

“The Doctor never went without snacks in his pockets,” Rose remembered.  Jackie chuckled and hugged her.

 

“So, love, be safe.  And if you can’t be safe be brave.  I love you, and I always will. And if it’s the last chance I get to say it….”

 

Jackie’s words sounded too similar to the last words her Doctor said and she couldn’t bear it.  She interrupted, “I love you, Mum. Let’s not say goodbye. I can’t….”

 

“Sweetheart, you’ll wish you had.  So. Goodbye. And if this one doesn’t work out as you planned...we’ll say goodbye again.”

 

“One of these days it will be for the last time,” Rose murmured.

 

“I know.  So let’s make this hug count.  I hope you find the Doctor and have your amazing life together.  It’s what you’re meant to do.” Jackie tucked a photo from Tony’s recent birthday into Rose’s jacket.  And with that they embraced long and well, and then Rose went off to Torchwood.

 

*****

 

As it turned out, that jump was not the one she’d hoped for, but the fabric of reality was becoming thinner.  She thought that perhaps soon, things would come to a head whether she found the Doctor or not.

 

The jumps alternated between abject boredom and mortal peril, just as always.  On one, she was sure she’d nearly found the Doctor as strange little creatures that looked like fat baby marshmallows teleported away.  Unfortunately the only person she met up with was a ginger woman babbling about car keys.

 

On another jump she actually saw the inside of the TARDIS over a viewscreen but the Doctor wasn’t there.  And on yet another jump she saw him on some sort of transport, but he was in too much trouble to notice her.  She tried not to be discouraged. She kept her Doctors’ voices in her mind and heart and tried to keep hope alive.  It wasn’t easy.

 

******

Mickey surveyed the computer monitors, checking the readouts one more time for accuracy.  “Ready there, Rose?”

 

“As I’ll ever be,” she called back to him.  She stood there, the blue of her jacket contrasting with the white wall. Her words sounded unsure but her demeanor was a different story.  She exuded confidence. They’d gotten into a habit of saying those things before a jump. It was like a good luck ritual.

 

“Okay, on line and ready for jump number….”

 

Rose interrupted him.  “One hundred seventy-five. Sounds like a good number.”

 

Mickey saluted her, which elicited the predictable eye roll from Rose, and she pressed the hopper button, blinking out of existence in Pete’s World.

 

******

 

The first thing she was aware of was the sunlight blinding her and wet shoes.  “Bloody water,” Rose grumbled. The hem of her trousers was wet from her landing. She looked around, noting the sunrise, the beach and the workers.  They didn't look particularly threatening but she kept her hand on her stun gun anyway.

 

The women in front of her stumbled backwards in shock.  It was not an unusual reaction to her sudden appearances.  However, the workers farther back pointed, mouths agape. They dropped to their knees, shouting, “The Goddess!  The Golden Goddess!”

 

And another adventure began…..

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the very last section of this story is the very first section of The Doctor, the Divine and the Dungeon Chapter 2: Rose Hops into a Predicament!


End file.
